As is well known, the basic principle of heating in a microwave oven is much different than with a conventional gas or electric oven. More specifically, with a conventional gas or electric oven, the oven chamber is heated and the food positioned therein is heated and cooked by the inward conduction of that heat. With a microwave oven, however, the heat is produced in the food by molecular agitation caused by the microwave field. The air around the food remains substantially unheated and the surface of the food is not appreciably hotter than the interior.
Pizzas prepared in microwave ovens heretofore have generally been unsatisfactory. This statement is true whether the pizza is a pre-packaged frozen pizza or prepared from scratch in the home. Typically, the undesirable characteristics are non-uniform heating and soggy or moist crusts. The problem results from the make-up of pizzas. Basically, they consist of a bread-dough base covered with cheese and tomato paste topped with meats, fish, or vegetables. When the constituents other than the dough are finished cooking in the microwave oven, the dough is not sufficiently dry to provide a crisp crust. There is a need for a utensil that provides conduction heat to the crust for browning while simultaneously shielding the other constituents from microwave energy to prevent overcooking.